Data analysis tools for imaging infrared technology within the ImageJ environment

Abstract

For over 30 years, the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) has specialized in characterizing the performance of infrared (IR) imaging systems in the laboratory and field. In the late 90’s, AMRDEC developed the Automated IR Sensor Test Facility (AISTF) which allowed efficient deployment testing of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) payloads. More recently, ImageJ has been used predominately as the image processing environment of choice for analysis of laboratory, field, and simulated data. The strengths of ImageJ are that it is maintained by the U.S. National Institute of Health, it exists in the public domain, and it functions on all major operating systems. Three new tools or “plugins” have been developed at AMRDEC to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of analysis. First, a Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference (NETD) plugin was written to process Signal Transfer Function (SiTF) and 3D noise data. Another plugin was produced that measures the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) given either an edge or slit target. Lastly, a plugin was developed to measure Focal Plane Array (FPA) defects, classify and bin the customizable defects, and report statistics. This paper will document the capabilities and practical applications of these tools as well as profile their advantages over previous methods of analysis.